Choate inducted into hall of fame

May 28, 2006|JEREMY D. BONFIGLIO Tribune Staff Writer

MISHAWAKA -- Jane Pauley had a dilemma. The young co-anchor for WISH-TV in Indianapolis was being courted by a Philadelphia station that wasn't taking no for an answer. "I remember her saying, 'Why would I want to go to Philadelphia?' " Luke Choate says. So, when the station's news director came to town, Pauley turned to her co-anchor. "She said, 'Choate you have to help me,' " he says. "She thought if I went along with her to lunch he wouldn't push her to come to Philadelphia." The plan worked. Pauley held out for Chicago, and eventually the "Today" show. "Maybe I should have pushed myself for that Philadelphia job," Choate says, laughing. Instead, the Mishawaka resident spent the bulk of his 40-year broadcasting career in Indiana. Last month in Indianapolis, Choate was honored for that commitment as the 2006 inductee into the Indiana Associated Press Broadcasters Association's Hall of Fame. "I kept waiting for the punch line," Choate says. "I haven't been much for awards over the years, but this was The Associated Press. That means a lot to me." Choate, who retired from WSBT in 2003, spent 17 years at the South Bend station (both WSBT and The Tribune are owned by Schurz Communications Inc.). Fifteen of those were on the anchor desk alongside Cindy Ward. "When you're doing live TV, it's like walking a tightrope without a net," Ward says. "He's the consummate professional. Luke would never crack up on air." Well, almost never. "I had one of my open mouth, insert foot moments," Ward says. "I was supposed to say 'California firefighters were fighting time and the elements.' Instead I said they were 'fighting time and the elephants,' and I hear this snort next to me. I think we laughed through the entire 30 minutes that night." Choate, who came to WSBT in 1986, anchored the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts, covering everything from Gov. Otis Bowen's move to Washington to the relief effort for refugees of war-torn Kosovo. "You looked to him and you trusted him," Ward says. "That's what the public saw." Choate's first foray into broadcasting was during high school at a local radio station in his hometown of Paducah, Ky. He continued to dabble in radio at both the University of Kentucky and Louisiana State University. After graduating from LSU with an English degree, Choate headed back to Paducah. When local television station WPSD-TV discovered Choate's radio background, they hired him as an anchor. "I wasn't taught journalism," he says. "So one night I just took off on the governor. I had a meeting with the news director after that, but I had to learn objectivity along the way." Choate would anchor everything from a kids show to the weather. "Back then, it was called announcing," he says. "You would anchor news and sports segments that were on in the 15 minutes before 'The Tonight Show.' " In 1963, Choate came to Indiana to work the next four years at WFIE-TV, and then with WTVW-TV in Evansville. "That's when I got my first taste of real reporting," Choate says. Part of that reporting included shooting film footage -- although he wasn't always successful. "I was so excited about using the camera," Choate says. "I remember shooting a traffic accident. I mean I was shooting everything, but I didn't realize I only had about 4 feet of film. The next time I went out, I had the lens cap on the camera the whole time." Although his cameraman skills were lacking, Choate's talent in front of the lens helped him add news director title to his name at WTVW and again at WJRT-TV in Flint, Mich. Then he got the call to join Lee Giles, Mike Ahern and Pauley at WISH in Indianapolis. There was one hitch. His on-air name was changed to "Lew" Choate, because Giles thought Luke sounded "too rural." He remained "Lew" when he joined WTHR-TV in Indianapolis as news anchor and reporter, covering everything from the hostages being released from Iran, to the early political days of then-congressman Dan Quayle during the next nine years. Choate then toyed with leaving the business for a career in antiques. His mother was an antiques dealer. "I finally ran into a station manager who didn't like my style," he says. "I was out of (broadcasting) for two or three months when Berry called." Berry Smith, the general manager for WSBT at the time, had worked with Choate 22 years earlier in Evansville. "I thought I'd be here about a year," Choate says. One year turned into 17. After 15 years behind the anchor desk, Choate was "kicked upstairs" serving as the station's public affairs director until retiring in 2003. He can still be seen on the station, however, with his "Michiana Medical Minute." Although these reports are for paying clients, Choate says he still uses the same approach he's always used. "As an anchor, you don't want to get in the way too much," he says. "You have to be able to report the news directly and be able to convey a message through the lens. It's all about that communication." That ability, Choate says, has allowed him rare access to the world around him. "You have a lot of stories that just touch you every day," Choate says. "From sick kids to movie stars. In my career I've been able to interview every president since Lyndon Johnson." Not bad for a kid from Paducah. Staff Writer Jeremy D. Bonfiglio: jbonfiglio@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6244